As much of the world runs headlong into the holiday season the stress and chaos of Christmas increasingly mount up. Time is running out to be ready for the season that lies ahead. In the days to come we must purchase the perfect gift, finalize family travel plans, account for holiday time off, meet end of the year deadlines, and still find room in our busy lives to embrace the holiday spirit.
On this Sunday, many will pause from the frantic chaos of the season to hear anew the song sung by Mary when she realized she was truly carrying the son of God in her womb. Known by much of Christian history as “The Magnificat” from its Latin translation, Mary’s song of praise resonates in powerful and prophetic ways. It also stands as a stark reminder of just what type of savior the world welcomes on Christmas.
Mary’s humility and status are striking. Where God could have chosen the rich and powerful as instruments to change the world, God chose a poor, teenage girl from a backwater town in a forgotten corner of Palestine. Through the miracle birth she would soon bring to the world, all Creation would come to know a powerful savior.
The prophetic song of praise joyously flowing from her young lips, also announces a prophetic reversal of human priority. No more shall people’s value be determined by their wealth and power, but rather by their poverty and humility. Standing as one of the first true prophets of the New Testament, Mary announces the end of the tyranny of wealth, power, and might through money, weapons, and control as sacred virtues. Through Mary, all who follow Jesus are reminded of the centrality of Christ as God’s true focus for salvation over the false idols of flags, nations, weapons, or money.
Mary’s song of praise breaks into the chaos and confusion of the holiday seasons with a stark reality check for the faithful. For the Christian, the season is not about decorating trees, purchasing presents, or insisting that people say “Merry Christmas” in public settings. Such expressions of the season miss the point of Christ completely. Christmas is about scattering the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. Christmas is about bringing the powerful down from their thrones. Christmas is lifting up the lowly. Christmas is about filling the hungry with good things. Christmas is about sending the rich away empty.
Christmas is about welcoming Jesus Christ back into our hearts as the savior of the world. This means taking up his Cross, following him, teaching and baptizing in his name, humbly serving him in every way. When the church fails to welcome the stranger, feed the orphan and widow, care for the least of these, or prescribe human value in terms of nationalism and political boundaries, the church fails the one of whom Mary sings.
For many congregations observing the traditional advent readings and candle lighting rituals, today is the candle of joy! It is at this candle where the Body of Christ pauses to recall and reclaim the genuine joy of living a life in the fullness of Christ. Such joy can never be obtained by having a presumably perfect Christmas with all the decorations, presents, and family meticulously arranged around a tree. Rather, it is the irrefutable joy that comes from within as a heart filled with the goodness of Jesus Christ overflows with joy and blessing.
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